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And although we here in California are not exempt from these same extremes, there is a relative parallel to our winter conditions, that keep many an angler at home as well. But nestled here in the fertile, flat land valleys of central California, reside what some have claimed to be the best fishery in the entire country. There are many in the spring, who would stand up and debate this trivial fact, none of which though, who would stand to lay claim to this through the winter as well. Winter fishing The California Delta, for the giant Florida strain hybrids that reside in this impoundment, is second to none across this great state. And the numbers of fish to be caught here, rival only to that of the great “jumbo minner” bite at ClearLake.

In the winter, the famed “delta breezes” of spring and summer are gone. Due to the rains of early fall, the saturation of the farming fields and the falling temperatures in the air, Delta anglers are now confronted with something more dangerous than the breezes of summer, the “Tulle Fog”. Blinding white out conditions exist from 2 hours before sun up, till mid-morning and noon. So it is very important to plan ahead of time and take the fog into consideration when selecting a launch facility. The two largest launching facilities on the River, Ladd's and Big Break are probably the least desirable under these conditions. It’s very easy to get lost in the fog before finding your way to your starting spot.

Selecting one of the many backwater launch sites can be a far better idea at this time of year. First and foremost, is for safety purposes, but more importantly, you’re going to find much better fishing in the back waters at this time of year. In the winter time, some of the best fishing the Delta has to offer, can be found in the deeper, clear, non-current areas of the River. These areas also tend to sustain a much more healthier growth of weeds, which the bass will use as their primary source of cover at this time of year. As the water temps begin to drop into the mid to low 50s, the Delta bass will begin to more often reside at depths of 10 foot or greater. They will bury themselves deep into the weeds out in the middle of sloughs. This is where you’ll need to spend the majority of your time in search of bass in the winter.

Although, in mid December and all through January and February, selecting areas with deep rock levee walls, will play a major factor in your catching bass later in the day. Most winter mornings, the bite can be very slow until afternoon. This is due in part to the late afternoon sun warming the areas around the rock levee banks. You may only find a temperature change of one or 2 degrees, but that is all it will take for these fish to move up for short periods to feed. Another key is to concentrate on the bank that is facing south. As is the same in spring and on any lakes, the northern exposure tends to warm first and faster. It is on this side of the sloughs and bays of the River, where you’ll find the greatest opportunity to git bit with any regularity, especially later in the day.

Fish the Weeds

Late fall and the winter provide us with some of the greatest reaction bites the Delta has to offer. One of the most popular bites, and my personal favorite, is to toss a ½ or ¾ oz lipless, non-suspending crankbait, out in the weed beds, all through the middle portion of the sloughs. Chrome/blue, Chrome/black, Pearl, Ivory, or Bone white will all work. I keep a variety of each on board with me and will always start with the Chrome/Black. Most Delta Rats, who regularly toss lipless cranks on the River will select the chrome/blue. Chrome/blue is very popular, as it plain just catches a lot of fish, including the ever-present population of stripers that invade the entire system through out the winter. It is because of these stripers, that I prefer to stay away from the chrome/blue. I catch very few stripers on this chrome/black version, but I also notice that what I trade off in numbers of black bass, I gain in the quality of the fish that I do catch.

Another bait that has become very popular in my arsenal in the late fall and winter is a ripbait. All varieties of rip/jerk’n minnow baits will work on the river. My absolute favorite though is a Lucky Craft StaySee or the Flash Minnow. Both baits will run down to about 6-10 feet and suspend. It’s the perfect cold water bait to use on river bass that are suspended and roaming the grass beds through out the river. Stick to shad colors, although at times the red one can produce many strikes when others will not. Long pauses between jerks and twitches work best causing the bait to suspend in a bass’ strike zone for extended periods. This is also a great bait to use to cover a lot of water, as the bass in winter will group up, you may go long stretches of no bites. Once ya find a willing and aggressive bass, you can be assured that he has given up the entire school. Slow down and cover the area thoroughly, there is sure to be more bass in the area.

Another great bait here on this grass pattern is slow rolling a 1/2oz white/black “thumper” spinnerbait. I prefer a Rodstrainer “Spin Nee,” with a single #8, gold, Colorado blade. If you are unable to find one of these “super” large thumper blades, a #6 or #7 will suffice. Most spinnerbaits today, are not sold or built this way. You will have to modify and change to a bigger blade when offering these bass a “thumper” blade. And you really need to fish that blade as slow as you possibly can, just as it ticks and thumps across the tops of the weeds in 6-10 foot below the surface. This bait, much like the lipless above, will just call these bigger fish out of their suspending haunts among the deeper weeds.

Don’t miss the docks

Taking this common pattern a step further, and introducing docks as an added form of cover, can really provide a bonanza all through the winter. Places such as Discovery Bay, Bethel Island, the countless marinas, the Calaveras, Lewis Park and the many Yacht clubs, all offer excellent fishing where we have the combination of depth, grass and docks. There are many deep, un-weeded areas underneath the docks through out the river. These open pockets hold many fish, big fish. It’s an over looked pattern by many anglers. Over the last two years, two techniques have been real productive following this dock pattern, dropshotting and rippin’.

We are now finding ourselves dropshotting in many more situations than I think anglers ever realized when first introduced to this technique. And with the fact that these winter time bass tend to suspend more now than any time through out the year, dropshotting is the perfect tool to present and keep a bait in a bass’ strike zone for extended periods of time. When on the River, I “Bubba” dropshot. This consists of a 7’ MH pitchin stick, 16# Sugoi Fluorocarbon line, with a 1/0 circle, mosquito or octopus hook. Then bait of choice is any thing in a slender 6” worm that is brown/purple in color. A 6” RoboWorm in Margarita Mutilator III is deadly. Aaron’s Magic, Lake Mead Special and the original Green Weenie, are all colors that will produce with proven regularity. Key on the openings of the slips and around the pylons. Don’t over fish this bait, dead sticking is far more productive than sitting there shaking it in one place. Shaking works great in the summer, these lethargic winter river bass do not want that bait moving much at all.

And a Lucky Craft StaySee in Aurora black, ripped and twitched around these docks will provide some hefty catches when nothing else seems to be working. Remember, these are not lake grown spotted bass, these are river bred Florida strained bass, they will not chase a violently jerked and ripped bait. You’ll yank that bait right on through their strike zone before they even now what came and went. Jerk that StaySee a couple of times to get it down, then just give it subtle little twitches, with 3-5 second pauses in-between. The Aurora works wonders in the clear and tannic water areas of the river. For more stained waters, use a bone, pearl white, or even a fire tiger on those real nasty and foul weather days.

Levee Rocks

Areas with no current, and deep, rock, levee walls, harbor the biggest bass the Delta has to offer in the wintertime. With the various bends in the river channels, stair stepping ledges, backwater bays, the giant bass of the Delta roam these areas all winter long. Bass love contour changes in the structure through out their designated homes. The Delta bass are no different from those bass we find in lakes, they too love these deep structure related areas. Moreover, in many case, they will reside in these areas year round. Many of the areas that offer this pattern, will also harbor a large winter supply of the giant shad that roam the river system. These shad are the forage to a wide variety of delta fishes, including the bass. However, these big bass aren’t always munching on shad. In fact, it’s rare that they do. They will lie in wait and grab an unsuspecting predator feeding on the shad, for it’s once a week meal.

Over the years, I have found that two baits really trigger strikes from these giant bass. Whenever I’m presented with a situation where I see these schooling balls of giant shad, remember shad in balls, are shad that are fearing for their life. A shads only option of defense, is to swim to the very middle of the school. They are all trying to get to the middle of the school at the same time, hence forming somewhat of a ball, protected by the weaker shad on the outer edges. This is huge on the river, you know some predator is wrecking havoc with this school of bait. If it’s boiling, it’s stripers, but if you see em balling just under the surface, it’s giant largemouth.

This is when I grab my 7A Red Craw Bomber, cast it past the school, and slowly retrieve it right through the center of that bait ball. Hang on and pray yer knot was checked before ya cast. When you toss a bait into one of these shad balls, something that is very different from the shad themselves, that’s like tossing breadcrumbs to a bunch of pond laden ducks. Any bass nearby is gonna run in and clock that crankbait, and clock it right now. I’ve caught 11 bass over 10 pounds on the Delta in December and January following this pattern over the past 5 years.

And last, my most commonly used tactic on the River in the winter time is the good ole Jig-n-pig. A half oz. Brown jig, tipped with a black/blue pork chunk, is the most consistent bass catching lure in my boat. This bait is best used on the deeper rock walls down to depths of 25 feet. Slowly hop and crawl this bait in, over and around the rocks, constantly keeping it moving. For me, a jig is a reaction bait. In as much as we’ve read and been told of how we should fish a jig very slowly in the winter months, when the temps are low and a bass’ metabolism is at it’s weakest, this bait when hop and popped off the bottom of these rocks in an erratic fashion, will trigger some of the most violent strikes from neutral and negative feeding fish. Getting those bass to recognize the prey is the key. Many times, they will be suspended up off the bottom, never noticing our baits slowly crawling below them. But when we pick up the pace and move that jig erratically, the bass will catch this out of his peripheral vision and come darting down to chomp it. In the wintertime, a jig-n-pig is the absolute best chance you’ve got to catch that Delta trophy of a lifetime.

Other useful tips

The Delta is a very diverse and massive fishery. Limiting your fishing areas and trimming your bait choices down to a select and productive few, will enable you to consistently catch bass and enjoy some of the best winter time bass fishing California has to offer. A few other things to keep in mind when you’re on the water. On them very light drizzly days with no wind, try fishing a black or brown jig with a Yamamoto craw trailer, very slowly across deep rocky bottoms. This craw comes in some great new laminated colors and the big floating claws have a great presence. If the weather is nasty, wind, cold and raining, go to big chartreuse and blue baits. A big double willow spinnerbait, or my favorite a Bomber 6A Fat chartreuse blue crank. Get on the banks of the rock walls, put yer trolling motor on high and go to work. Plan your trips around the full moon, three days before, the two days of the full moon, and the three days following. This is the period where you’ll find the greatest chance of catching a Delta giant. And on those blue bird days of a high-pressure system following a storm, toss those crankbaits. You need to cover as much water as you can, and trigger reaction strikes to consistently catch fish. And when all else fails, head to the shallows of Sherman Lake, Big Break, Franks Tract, Little Mandeville and Mildred Island. Break out the bleeding shad Bill Lewis rattletraps, and go have ya some fun with the stripers.

Follow these tips and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the success of wintertime fishing on the Delta as I have. Good luck and Keep a Tight Line!

Andy “Cooch” Cuccia